Netflix Acquires Latest Film From Ben Proudfoot, Final Documentary From Late Julia Reichert And More Short Docs With Oscar Potential

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has lined up a blockbuster slate of short documentaries heading into Oscar season, including the latest from two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot in collaboration with the Obamas’ production company.

The streamer announced four acquisitions today, beginning with The Turnaround, directed by Proudfoot and Kyle Thrash, a documentary that “tells the story of Philadelphia Phillies’ superfan Jon McCann, who helped inspire an unlikely 2023 standing ovation for Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, which helped turn the team around after hitting a major roadblock.” (Coincidence or otherwise, the Phillies have clinched the NL East division this year and are essentially tied with the L.A. Dodgers for the best record in baseball).

As Deadline reported in late August, Higher Ground, the production company founded by former Pres. Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, came aboard The Turnaround. Higher Ground produces, along with Proudfoot’s Breakwater Studios, Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios (a DICK’s Sporting Goods company), and Major League Baseball. The documentary will premiere on Netflix on October 18.

Scroll for full details on the acquisitions announced on Wednesday.

Also joining the Netflix slate is Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World, directed by Julio Palacio. It’s a moving story of Makayla Cain, a teenage girl with a form of autism that left her nonverbal. Her parents worked to unlock the secret world of Makayla’s consciousness, with remarkable results.

Makayla’s Voice won Best Documentary Short at Tribeca Festival earlier this year, as well as the Jenni Berebitsky Legacy Award at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival, and awards at Slamdance and the Atlanta Film Festival. It premieres on Netflix on December 11.

Netflix likewise acquired Julia’s Stepping Stones, the final film from Oscar winner Julia Reichert, who won the Academy Award for American Factory, directed with her husband Steven Bognar. Julia’s Stepping Stones, directed by Reichert and Bognar, shares “the intimate story of [Reichert’s] own journey, from her youth as a working-class girl who dreamt of a larger life for herself to her discovery of documentary filmmaking and her own voice along the way.”

The short premieres on Netflix on December 18.

Rounding out the quartet of acquisitions is The Only Girl in the Orchestra, directed by Emmy winner Molly O’Brien. The film documents double bassist Orin O’Brien (Molly O’Brien’s aunt), a protégé of New York Philharmonic conduct Leonard Bernstein. She became the venerable institution’s first female musician when she joined the orchestra in the 1960s.

The Only Girl in the Orchestra bows on Netflix on December 4.

Netflix didn’t score any Oscar nominations in the short documentary category for the most recent Academy Awards, but it’s a traditional powerhouse in the space. Netflix short docs that have earned the Academy Award include The Elephant Whisperers (winner in 2023); Period. End of Sentence. (2019), and The White Helmets (2017).

Below are full details on the acquisitions announced on Wednesday.

The Turnaround

Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World

Julia’s Stepping Stones

The Only Girl In The Orchestra